Method and means for treating filaments of hair, or the like

ABSTRACT

An improved method and means for curling hair uses relatively slidable combs to apply lateral forces to the hair as the teeth are drawn through the hair.

451 May 29, 1973 United- States 1 Burney References Cited METHOD ANDMEANS FOR TR S T m M P S E m T S w H N U M w m E UK AI L m T R 01,955,405 4/1934 Bove....................................132/1382,562,465 7/1951 Kassel 19 Charles F. Burney, Tulsa, Okla.

; a part interest Sept. 30, 1971 Primary Examiner-L0uis G. ManceneAssistant Examiner-Gm Attorney-A. C. Smith gory E. McNeill [22] Filed:

[211 App]. No.: 185,329

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METHOD AND MEANS FOR TREATING FILAMENTS OF HAIR, OR THE LIKE BACKGROUNDAND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION which apply lateral forces to the filamentsas they are drawn through the teeth. A lever provides the means formanually controlling the location and degree of curling along thelengths of the hair filaments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of the comb apparatusof the present invention;

FIG..2 is a bottom view ofthe apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional'view of the relatively movable teeth of theapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial side sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1; andj FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of the apparatusof FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to' the side viewof FIG. 1 and to the bottom view of FIG. 2, there is shown the apparatusof the present invention which includes a body 9 having a handle portion11 and comb portion 13. A manuallyactuatable lever l4 is pivotallymounted within the han- -dle portion 11 and an adjustment knob isdisposed at the rear end of the handle portion 11. A slidable comb 17 isdisposed within the comb portion 13 of the body 9 and includes teethwhich are spaced therealong at corresponding intervals to mate withteeth 19 of the comb portion 13. This slidable comb 17 is mechanicallycoupled to the lever 14 for longitudinal movement thereof within thecomb portion 13 of the body 9 in response to manual actuation of thelever 14. Thus, in the normalposition the teeth of the slidable comb 17are disposed adjacent the fixed set of teeth 19 of the body 9 and aremoved toward the back sides of the forwardly adjacent teeth 19 inresponse to actuation of lever 14.

As the present apparatus is drawn through the hair, the user actuatesthe lever 14 to move the teeth 17 of the slidable comb forward, therebysqueezing filaments of hair 23 between the facing edges 21, 22 of theteeth of the'slidable comb l7 and the forwardly adjacent stationaryteeth 19 of the body 9, as shown in FIG. 3. This has a tendency to alterthe cross-sectional shape of the hair filaments 23, thereby causingthefilaments to curl after the tensile and lateral forces on thefilament are relieved. The bottom view of FIG. 3 shows a preferredembodiment of the invention in which the. stationary teeth 19 include arecessed-forward region into which the teeth 17 of the slidable comb arepositioned in their normal or rest position. The forward edges 21 of theteeth 17 of the slidable comb include cross-sectional contact areaswhich are substantially smaller than the mating contact surfaces on thebacks of the stationary teeth 19. This aids in producing a substantialamount of force per unit area on the filaments of hair 23 as the presentapparatus is drawn down the length of the hair filaments 23. As incurling decorative ribbon by drawing the ribbon under tension across anedge, this operating motion of the present apparatus along the length ofthe hair filaments also causes the hair to curl in regions along thelength of the hair at which pressure is applied to the filaments bysliding the teeth 17 of the slidable comb forward toward the mating faceof the stationary teeth 19. The hair filaments 23 may thus be curled atdesired locations along the length of the hair filaments 23 simply bymanually squeezing the lever 14 into the handle portion 1 1. It shouldbe understood that the slidable comb may also be actuated to sliderearwardly from a rest position in which the teeth 17 are recessed intothe back surfaces of the stationary teeth 19 to an actuated position inwhich the contact edges of the teeth 17 are positioned near the forwardsurfaces of corresponding rearwardly adjacent stationary teeth 19. Also,other arrangements of small-area contact edges abutting broader-areacontact faces may be used. For example, small-area contact edges may bedisposed on the stationary teeth to mate with broader-area surfaces ofthe teeth on the slidable comb. Additionally, both the stationary teeth19 and the teeth 17 of the slidable comb may carry mating contact edgesof small cross-sectional area for enhancing the amount of lateral forceapplied to the hair filaments 23.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a partial sectional view of theapparatus of the present invention. The handle portion 11 is recessedsufficiently to receive the manually-actuatable lever 14 which ispivotally mounted in the socket 39 of the body 9. The lever 14 alsocarries an actuating arm 25 which engages the shaft 27 of the slidablecomb in a transverse slot 28 through the shaft 27. A spring 29 isdisposed between the actuating arm 25 and a collar 31 disposed on theshaft 27 of the slidable comb. This spring 29 limits the amount oflateral force that may be applied to hair filaments substantiallyindependently of the position of the lever 14. The handle portion 11also carries an adjustment knob 15 whichincludes an eccentric camsurface 33 which thus limits the upward travel of the lever 14 as afunction of the angular rotation of the knob 15 about its rotationalaxis 35. The lever 14, and hence, the slidable comb engaged therewiththrough shaft 27, slot 28 and actuating arm 25 may be held in the restposition by suitable resilient means such as a resilient foam rubber orplastic block 37 or rubber band 38.

In operation, the user simply draws the apparatus of the presentinvention down the lengths of the hair filaments and, at selectedlocations along the lengths of the filaments, squeezes themanually-actuatable lever 14 substantially to the stop positiondetermined by the adjustment knob 15. This causes the lever 14 and theactuating arm 25 carried thereby to pivot within the socket 39 andproduce translational motion along the length of the body 9 at theactuating arm 25. This translational motion is transferred through theresilient means 29 to the collar 31 and shaft 27 of the slidable comb.The teeth 17 of the slidable comb are thereby urged from the firstposition (ie recessed within the forward faces of the stationary teeth19) toward the second position abutting the back side surfaces of thestationary teeth 22. The filaments of hair 23 disposed between theforward edges 21 of the slidable teeth 17 and the back side surface 22of the stationary teeth 19 are thereby squeezed and simultaneously drawnunder tension through the apparatus of the present invention.

This action on the hair filaments 23 thus alters their cross-sectionalshape, thereby causing them to curl as the tensile and lateral forces onthe filaments are released upon drawing the present apparatus beyond theends of the filaments. The resilient means 29 assures that onlysufficient lateral force is applied to the filaments 23 that aresqueezed between the forward edges 21 and the back surfaces 22 of therelatively slidable teeth to assure proper curling without unnecessarilypulling the filaments, substantially independently of how forcefully theuser may squeeze the lever 14. Also, the adjustment of knob limits theupward travel of the lever 14 to limit the extent to which the resilientmeans 29 may be compressed, thereby limiting further the amount of forcethat may be applied laterally to the filaments of hair 23.

Therefore, the hair combing method and apparatus of the presentinvention applies tensile and lateral forces to the filaments of hair toalter their crosssectional shape and thereby enhance the curling qualityof the hair filaments.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for treating filaments of hair, or the like, the apparatuscomprising:

a-body member having a plurality of teeth positioned in substantiallyparallel, spaced relationship along a portion of the length thereof forreceiving filaments to be treated therebetween;

a slide member carried by said body member and mounted for slidablemovement along a portion of the length thereof, said slide member havinga plurality of teeth positioned in substantially parallel, spacedrelationship along a portion of the length thereof with each of theplurality of teeth of said slide member being slidably movable from afirst position adjacent a corresponding tooth of the body member to asecond position adjacent the next tooth of the body member which isspaced away from said corresponding tooth along the length of the bodyportion; and

means coupled to said body member and to said slide member for impartingrelative movement thereto to carry the teeth of said slide member fromthe first position toward said second position for exerting lateralforce on filaments to be treated disposed between the teeth of saidslide member and the teeth of the body member which correspond theretowith the slide member in said second position.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein a portion of the length of at leastone of the mating faces of the teeth on the slide member and on the bodymember includes a contact surface which imparts lateral force tofilaments in contact therewith and which has a contact area that issmaller than the area of the mating face of the teeth on the other ofthe slide member and body member.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the plurality of teeth of the slidemember are substantially recessed within the corresponding teeth of thebody member for the slide member in said first position.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the teeth of said slide memberinclude filament-engaging contact edges on the surfaces thereof remotefrom the surfaces recessed into the corresponding teeth of the bodymember, said contact edges being disposed along portions of the lengthsof the teeth of the slide member to engage mating surfaces of the teethof the body member with said slide member in said second position.

5. Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein each of said contact edges is formedas an abrupt transition in the surface contour of the surface of thetooth of the slide member which mates with the surface of acorresponding tooth of the body member when said slide member is in saidsecond position.

6. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:

said body member includes a handle portion; and

said means includes a lever pivotally mounted on said body member in thehandle portion thereof which is coupled to said slide member forimparting thereto longitudinally sliding motion within the body memberfrom said first position to said second position in response to manualactuation of said lever.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 comprising resilient means having endscoupled between said lever and said slide member for applying to saidslide member a longitudinally sliding force in a direction from saidfirst position to said second position in response to manual actuationof said lever, said resilient means determining the longitudinallysliding force applied to the slide member as a function of thedisplacement between the ends thereof as manual force is applied to saidlever.

8. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said means includes a stop memberoperably disposed between said body member and said lever for selectablylimiting the pivotal movement of said lever with respect to said bodymember to limit the longitudinally slidable movement of said slidemember in the direction from the first position toward the secondposition in response to manual actuation of said lever.

9. The method of treating a plurality of filaments of hair, or the like,to enhance the propensity of the filaments to curl, the methodcomprising the steps of:

introducing into the plurality of filaments first and second sets ofrelatively slidable teeth which are disposed in substantiallycorresponding spaced, parallel relationship; and

simultaneously drawing the sets of teeth along the lengths of thefilaments and slidably urging the first and second sets of teethtogether for applying to the filaments disposed therebetween lateralcompressive forces. from substantially aligned locations on oppositesides ofthe filaments.

1. Apparatus for treating filaments of hair, or the like, the apparatuscomprising: a body member having a plurality of teeth positioned insubstantially parallel, spaced relationship along a portion of thelength thereof for receiving filaments to be treated therebetween; aslide member carried by said body member and mounted for slidablemovement along a portion of the length thereof, said slide member havinga plurality of teeth positioned in substantially parallel, spacedrelationship along a portion of the length thereof with each of theplurality of teeth of said slide member being slidably movable from afirst position adjacent a corresponding tooth of the body member to asecond position adjacent the next tooth of the body member which isspaced away from said corresponding tooth along the length of the bodyportion; and means coupled to said body member and to said slide memberfor imparting relative movement thereto to carry the teeth of said slidemember from the first position toward said second position for exertinglateral force on filaments to be treated disposed between the teeth ofsaid slide member and the teeth of the body member which correspondthereto with the slide member in said second position.
 2. Apparatus asin claim 1 wherein a portion of the length of at least one of the matingfaces of the teeth on the slide member and on the body member includes acontact surface which imparts lateral force to filaments in contacttherewith and which has a contact area that is smaller than the area ofthe mating face of the teeth on the other of the slide member and bodymember.
 3. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the plurality of teeth of theslide member are substantially recessed within the corresponding teethof the body member for the slide member in said first position. 4.Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the teeth of said slide member includefilament-engaging contact edges on the surfaces thereof remote from thesurfaces recessed into the corresponding teeth of the body member, saidcontact edges being disposed along portions of the lengths of the teethof the slide member to engage mating surfaces of the teeth of the bodymember with said slide member in said second position.
 5. Apparatus asin claim 4 wherein each of said contact edges is formed as an abrupttransition in the surface contour of the surface of the tooth of theslide member which mates with the surface of a corresponding tooth ofthe body member when said slide member is in said second position. 6.Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein: said body member includes a handleportion; and said means includes a lever pivotally mounted on said bodymember in the handle portion thereof which is coupled to said slidemember for imparting thereto longitudinally sliding motion within thebody member from said first position to said second position in responseto manual actuation of said lever.
 7. Apparatus as in claim 6 comprisingresilient means having ends coupled between said lever and said slidemember for applying to said slide member a longitudinally sliding forcein a direction from said first position to said second position inresponse to manual actuation of said lever, said resilient meansdetermining the longitudinally sliding force applied to the slide memberas a function of the displacement between the ends thereof as manualforce is applied to said leveR.
 8. Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein saidmeans includes a stop member operably disposed between said body memberand said lever for selectably limiting the pivotal movement of saidlever with respect to said body member to limit the longitudinallyslidable movement of said slide member in the direction from the firstposition toward the second position in response to manual actuation ofsaid lever.
 9. The method of treating a plurality of filaments of hair,or the like, to enhance the propensity of the filaments to curl, themethod comprising the steps of: introducing into the plurality offilaments first and second sets of relatively slidable teeth which aredisposed in substantially corresponding spaced, parallel relationship;and simultaneously drawing the sets of teeth along the lengths of thefilaments and slidably urging the first and second sets of teethtogether for applying to the filaments disposed therebetween lateralcompressive forces from substantially aligned locations on oppositesides of the filaments.